Serena's loyal supporters

At the Australian Open, Serena Williams (below) addressed a timeless sporting conundrum. Can a woman, however talented, carry the equivalent of John Prescott and Nicholas Soames in her bra cups, and scythe her way through a Grand Slam field in the dangerous heat of Melbourne in January? The answer, apparently, is no.

In a meeting reminiscent of one of those catchweight wrestling contests that used to delight Kent Walton, Serena submitted to the whippet-like Daniela Hantuchova, raising again the question of her commitment to tennis. As with Venus, her commitment to acting is in less doubt, and if anyone decides to remake Gone With The Wind Serena will be in perfect shape to reprise Butterfly McQueen's Oscar-winning role.

Generally, I'm all for chunky sports stars. Nothing is more reassuring for the portly TV spectator than the sight of Robert Key trundling out to bat for England, or Monty eyeballing an American crowd after cries of Mrs Doubtfire. But tennis requires a mobility Serena cannot hope to achieve while lugging around breasts that are registered to vote in a different US state from the rest of her.